IS EDUCATION A PRIORITY IN 2007?       

Without a doubt, we all are busy. There seems to be time for everything but education. Our office feels legal education is a necessity for the property manager. Laws change, cases make new law, and the rapid increase in tenants being represented by attorneys makes it imperative that you stay one step ahead of your tenant AND your competition. Maybe you are knowledgeable but just need a refresher class. As in 2006, our office will be providing a large number of education opportunities through our firm and through the local apartment associations, Boards of REALTORS and NARPM chapters.  Check the Training section of EVICT.COM for info on our classes.

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DEALING WITH TENANT DOMESTIC DISPUTES AND RESTRAINING ORDERS       

Mary gets a restraining order against Joe, and both are tenants on the lease. Joe is now not supposed to come within 500 feet of Mary, and Mary is given exclusive use of the rental unit. Joe comes to your office and asks you to let him in, as the locks have been changed. What should you do? Suppose you have not actually seen the restraining order but heard there was one? Do we smell liability?

Click here  to see how to handle the Restraining Order Situation.

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THE DISCOVERY OF A CHILD CRIMINAL        

You ran the background check, and the applicants came out clean on the criminal portion. The applicant, now a tenant, moves in, and it is discovered that the child occupant had been in juvenile detention for 3 years due to raping another child 4 years ago. The neighbors know and are furious. Can anything be done? Does your application address this? I bet not.

Click here  for some tenant removal tips if “occupants” have a criminal past. 

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MAILING THE THREE DAY NOTICE         

You are managing a property that is 30 miles from the office and just cannot bear the thought of driving there to serve the Three Day Notice in person. Can you mail the notice? Absent any prohibitions in your lease on mailing a notice, you can, but mailing a notice has some technical requirements that completely change the expiration date of the notice. Prepare the notice wrong, and your eviction may be fatally defective.

Click here  to see how to successfully mail a Three Day Notice. 

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NOTICE OF INTENTION TO IMPOSE CLAIM ON SECURITY DEPOSIT “QUICK TIP”           

One tenant disappears, and the other tenant remains. The remaining tenant whose lease is now up is now vacating and asks that the security deposit check is made out in one name, his. Can you do it? NO.  You must make the check out in both names, and the tenant must deal with the problem.
 

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NO RENT - NO REPAIRS?            

Your tenant owes 3 month’ rent and asks you to repair the refrigerator. You say “Pay the rent, and I will make the repair”. Seems fair enough, BUT this is not legal. The landlord’s obligations to maintain the premises have nothing to do with the tenant’s obligation to pay rent. Failure to make the repair could result in losing the eviction or being sued by the tenant.
 
 

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SELFSTORAGELEGAL.COM- Do you handle the management or ownership of any “Self Storage Units”, or have you been considering this?           

While managing Self Storage Units may seem simple, many legal factors play into this high liability area, where we must dot each “i” and cross each “t”. We will be bringing you a series of practical legal articles by the top legal eagle in the country when it comes to Self Storage Law, Jeffrey Greenberger. The first in the series pertains to advertising the self storage facility, and how what you say can cause serious legal issues later.

Click here to read the article “Oh the Words That You Choose”.
 

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COMMERCIAL LAW AND YOU            

Commercial landlord-tenant law is very different than residential, and many of our clients handle both. Our firm concentrates primarily on residential, and we recommend attorney Kevin Jursinski for your commercial needs. Do you know what the fundamental elements are to be included on a commercial lease? Do you know two witnesses are needed on every commercial lease in Florida that exceeds two years? In a commercial lease setting, when is a bagel not a donut? 

If you would like the answers to these questions and more, click here.
 

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THE FAIR HOUSING CORNER - “NOISY KIDS”          
                                    By Cathy L. Lucrezi, Attorney at Law

It’s a scenario you know very well:  A tenant complains about noise coming from the kids next door – playing in the breezeway, yelling in the common area, stomping on the steps.  How you handle the situation affects whether a fair housing claim is in your future. Do you know what to do?

Click here to see how to safely deal with “Noisy Kids” .
 

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INDUSTRY LEADER OF THE MONTH - DARLA ERDELYI

Darla Erdelyi began her career in the apartment industry 35 years ago, starting as a leasing agent and working her way up the ranks for Dewar Properties. 

In 1983 Erdelyi became the executive director for the Apartment Council of Jacksonville, handling membership, renewals and education.  In 1985 she was approached by Louis Haas, the owner of the local apartment publication.   Staying in that position for 20 years until the death of Mr. Haas and following a brief retirement, Erdelyi started The Apartment Shopper’s Guide of the First Coast along with her co-worker Carol Lester.  The publication was an immediate success.

Darla’s greatest contribution to the industry, however, lies in her strong sense of duty and commitment to her local, state, and national apartment associations.  Darla has served on the Board of Directors of the First Coast Apartment Association for so many years no one can remember, and has served as a Delegate to both the Florida Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association.  She has raised thousands of dollars for NAA PAC, APAC and planned and implemented the first PAC poker tournament in Florida, FCAA’s “Ante Up for APAC.”  According to Peggy Queen, Executive Director of FCAA, “Darla has been instrumental in the growth of our association, and she represents its spirit.  She’s been around ‘forever,’ and we want her to stay around ‘forever.’  She is one of a kind!”

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